All Roads Chapter 65: Balanced V by Feonix500 on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

Balanced V:

Donnie typed into his forearm computer counting on Raph, Mona, April and Venus, surrounding him on four sides, to keep him colliding with anything as they navigated the labyrinth of hallways and floors that was the massive EDF headquarters, even restricted to the R&D wing.

Dependent on technology, no one had noticed their breach of the facility under cover of darkness. Once inside, he’d quickly negotiated the computer system he’d infiltrated to confirm that Leo and Miwa were indeed being held in the lab here and had narrowed it down to a specific floor and room. Now he was plugged into the security system and electronically observing the movements of the facility’s patrols.

April, a semi-constant and comforting echo in his head, kept everyone filled in on each whispered update and, if they so chose, all information he accessed on his computer was automatically pushed out to all the others to look up on their own.

That wasn’t happening on his team. Everyone was content to let him handle the tech and direct them through the maze, telling them when to halt, hide or push ahead in haste. They were almost to the lab. The mission was progressing with unprecedented smoothness.

He could have smacked himself the moment the thought flitted unbidden through his head. Right on cue, an alert popped up on his computer. He opened it and almost swore out loud. He’d been detected in the system. Any minute now they were going to…

Lights flashed red all around him as the alarms began to sound.

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They were running through the building in formation with Raphael in the lead, April to the left, her to the right and Mona Lisa protecting the rear. Donatello ran in the center, with his face almost buried into the screen on his forearm whilst tapping at the small keys with a dexterity that never ceased to amaze her given the size and limited number of his fingers.

At least now that they’d gotten started, Raphael was no longer making all of them uncomfortable with the appreciative glances he kept giving Mona Lisa, which were not as discrete as he thought. They were all very aware that he found her attractive when dressed for combat, information she was certain the rest of them could do without.

Personally, she didn’t see what the fuss was about. Even though she was a mutant now, Mona Lisa still dressed as though she were human, insomuch as such a thing was possible. And based on Venus’s experience with American media, combat boots, a cargo skirt and a tank top, all in various shades of black were not typical examples of beautification.

Bowing to the needs of practicality, she’d even pulled her hair back into a ponytail and Venus had inadvertently encountered them in enough awkward moments to know that Raphael preferred her hair down. More information that she could do without.

Maybe it was the guns. Loaded down with several sets of firearms, custom made for her by Donnie along with equally customized ammunition clips, she had handguns in holsters across her back and hips and in her boots along with a larger rifle strapped across her back. The pockets of her skirt bulged with clips for her weapons. She vaguely reminded Venus of some of the characters on the boxes of the video games Raphael enjoyed so much. Perhaps that was the appeal.

Although she could see the advantage of having pockets, covered as completely in her scales as Venus was in her shell, Mona Lisa didn’t really need clothing. Not the way humans, like April, did.

She glanced over at her human sister. For the mission, April had geared up in a black jumpsuit and face mask, covering her nose and mouth, made of thick, durable material with soft but sturdy boots, probably the result of Miwa’s advice on kunoichi equipment. Even so, she hadn’t been able to resist adding in very April-like yellow accents along the seams of her suit and the vaguely gold tinted plates of metal armor on her torso, protecting her vital organs. Well, it was stealthy enough if she was careful.

Venus returned her attention to Donatello who was now muttering something about getting close and she could hear April’s update reverberate through her mind. They would need to work on selective sending under duress next time she trained with her.

Then Donatello’s eyes widened and his face went rigid with dismay. Something was amiss. Before she could ask, the fluorescent hallway lighting vanished, replaced by pulsating red lights from the edges of the ceiling. She cringed as the alarms blared from seemingly every direction, deafening what had been a relatively soundless journey for them.

Furious, Raph spun to face his distraught brother. “What the shell Donnie?”

Donatello was just shaking his head in disbelief. “They found me in their system. They know we’re here. Troops are converging on our position from behind. Raph we can’t make it to the lab before they get to us.”

That was bad. If they got caught in a fight, the scientists would have time to relocate or kill Leonardo and Miwa. They already had too much advance warning with the alarms sounding.

But there was a solution. As leader, Raphael was essential. Donatello’s technical knowledge would be the key to freeing their relatives, not to mention assessing their medical condition. And as their psychic communication link, April wasn’t expendable either. That left Mona Lisa and her.

“Mona Lisa and I will hold them off. The rest of you keep going forward. It’s the only way.”

Donatello seemed momentarily stricken at her words, but quickly calculated the odds of her plan’s success, acquiescing with a confident nod. She cherished the trust he had in her. Raphael, on the other hand, looked like he was about to tear into her as he shot her idea down, but Mona Lisa intervened. “Venus is right. It’s ok Raph. We got this. Go save Leo and Miwa.” He hesitated for a second before conceding with a grudging nod.

She and Mona Lisa turned back as he led the team onward. Venus glanced over at her sister. “Are you ready.” Mona Lisa smirked in response. “Like I said. We got this.”

Reassured, Venus called on her power, sensing the soldiers’ approach while Mona Lisa drew the two handguns from her back holster, jamming clips into each with well-practiced ease and chambering her first rounds. Venus was curious which ammunition she’d chosen to use, but knew that Mona Lisa had enough training and experience by this point that she could rely on her sister’s judgment.

As the troops rounded the corner and paused to level their weapons at them, Venus unleashed a force wave of concussive sound in their direction, while shattering a smoke pellet at their feet. The first row of soldiers flew back into their comrades. She redirected her power to her eyes to see through the smoke, knowing that she’d have to curtail larger uses of her abilities if she wanted to last through this fight, let alone the mission.

Fortunately, Mona Lisa stepped up. Apparently she’d chosen the flashbang bullets for one gun and electric stun charges for the other. Taking advantage of the chaos these projectiles caused among their enemies, Venus charged in, breaking guns with her butterfly swords and disabling men with kicks, elbows and pommel strikes to vitals and pressure points.

They couldn’t see her in the smoke and couldn’t risk wild firing with her in their midst, lest they lose comrades to their own attacks. But for the same reason, Mona Lisa had to stop her barrage, except when Venus launched an enemy outside of the smoke cloud with a well-placed strike.

As the cloud began to dissipate, she dove and rolled back in Mona Lisa’s direction, just in time to see her sister, snap her computer shut. Good, they had a route. Mona Lisa launched one more flash bang into the crowd of enemies to cover them as she led Venus away from the lab and their enemies on the chase of their lives. Venus couldn’t help but smile as Mona Lisa’s voice rang out. “Catch us if you can.”